New Delhi: The Union government on Wednesday (September 9) told the Supreme Court that it “has an issue” with treating English as an indigenous language, reported The Hindu. It told the apex court that the government would move quickly with consultations about granting students of class 6 a one-time reprieve from a mandatory third-language board examination.During the hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who represented the petitioners, requested an order from the court on the issue of English being shifted to the “non-native” or foreign language category.At this juncture, solicitor general (SG) Tushar Mehta who was appearing on behalf of the Union government, said, “We have an issue about that. We would like to make submissions on that.”Mehta added that a meeting would be convened “today or tomorrow” with the officials concerned in the presence of additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati for a decision on the matter.The Union government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 9, 2026) that it “has an issue” with treating English as an indigenous language, but assured the court that it would move quickly with consultations on granting current Class 6 students a one-time reprieve from a mandatory third-language Board examination.ASG Mehta sought a short adjournment on Wednesday as ASG Bhati was unable to address the court due to a personal difficulty.“You have to give some time not only for students but also for infrastructure to come on par across the various education boards. It is a good policy to start with the mother tongue, then an indigenous language, and then another indigenous or foreign language. But all this should be started when the children are a little younger, in a lower class, giving them time to adapt,” said Justice Joymalya Bagchi.Back in July, the Supreme Court had asked if English, as widely spoken as it is in India today and for centuries, can be considered an “indigenous Indian language,” kindling hope of a less forced language model in schools.On July 14, Justice Bagchi had said that the term ‘native’ used by the Central Board of Secondary Education as part of its three-language scheme was significant as it doesn’t appear in the constitution or the statute books.The CBSE’s curriculum released in April indicated that its three-language formula – requiring students to learn three languages including two native to India – would be implemented progressively starting with class 6 students this year.Concerns have also been raised that the policy would lead to the ‘imposition’ of Hindi in southern India.